


Problems dipped in Red

by Sephone_North



Series: The Problem with Love [3]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 11:15:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5783356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephone_North/pseuds/Sephone_North
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love can be expressed in the strangest of ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Problems dipped in Red

_Sarge loves harshly._

This is only the truth, because Sarge loves with an iron fist. But let it not be said that Sarge does not love. He shows love in ways that are so subtle they come off as cruel. 

He loves Grif in his prayers for his death.

He knows that Grif is a contrary bastard. The more he asks for the man to die, the more the man will live only to spite him. But in Sarge’s mind, death is peace, quiet, a long nap, which he knows that his laziest man would only love. 

He loves Simmons in his approval. 

Kiss-asses tend to get beaten in the army, at least by their contemporaries, but Simmons is safe under Sarge’s wing. He loves him like the fther he never had, which is what the boy needs more than anything. 

He loves Donut in his acceptance. 

As much as the pink soldier is picked on for his armor, there is no bullying about his choices. To Sarge, he can be who he wishes, who he wants to be. Donut is the crazy one, the one with an innuendo for everything, and Sarge never stops him at all.

He loves his boys, but he does it with threats and gruff yells.

Let it not be said that Sarge is a wimp. 

 

_Grif loves sacrificially_

When it was just him and Kaikana, he learned to love. 

If he had money, it went to Kai first.

If he had time, it went to take care of Kai. 

If he had food, she got to eat first. 

Kai was first priority and he gave everything he could to keep her happy and whole. 

Then the Army called him up and dropped him down into a canyon with no escape, and he stopped loving. He stopped doing anything, because what was the point? 

His job was to care for Kai, and she was gone. 

But he finds himself loving again.

It’s the quiet things, where he’ll scoot over to share a napping spot with Simmons, or when he slides the last Oreo over to Donut without a word. 

It’s the loud moments too, where he throws himself against Sarge, feeling the bullet graze his armor. 

Grif loves in sacrifices, be them small or huge. 

 

_Simmons loves selfishly._

Simmons loves for what Simmons can get. 

He wants to be wanted. 

He loves to be loved.

He isn’t one to sacrifice time or give up something for another.

He thinks only of what he can have in love. 

It comes from having a father whose love was so conditional. He was only loved when he was good, when he was meeting expectation. 

Unbeknowest to him, this ideal of love has passed onto him. He loves for what he can gain, thinking that is what love is. 

He doesn’t realize that by being selfless, he would get the greatest love imaginable. 

 

_Donut loves like the rain._

At times, his love is like a drizzle. It is gentle, a comment said in a quiet moment. A single little act that shows how much he loves. 

Sometimes, it is a downpour. He loves in clean bases and baked goods. He loves in long conversations, in new clothes or new looks. He loves in actions and at times, his actions are constant and stifling. 

But sometimes, the rain stops. His love can only last so long, and sometimes he is in a drought. And the others notice. 

Sarge grabs the man and drags him to help with vehicle maintenance. 

He doesn’t make Donut talk, but he lets out a string of nothings, topics ranging from the feeling of jumping from an orbital dropship to the components of the engine. Donut listens happily, handing tools and humming quietly. 

Grif takes him on watch duty. 

Which translates to the two of them sitting in the shade in the Warthog, eating Oreos. There is peace and quiet. Grif does not talk, lets the sound of Oreos crunching and package crumbling fill the silence. It is the easy offer of the last Oreo in the pack that brings the brightest smile to Donut’s face 

Simmons tries to help. 

The man doesn’t truly understand, but he does what he can to help. He rattles as he types, his voice trailing off as he gets focused on something, picking up when he realizes he’s quieted. Donut sits nearby, reading his book, enjoying the ebb and flow of words. 

And just like a cloud, the quiet love from them fills him back up, and soon, it starts raining once again. 

 

_Lopez loves in repairs._

Lopez shouldn’t love. He is, at his core, a series of numbers and codes. He shouldn’t have emotions, opinions, or a mind of his own. 

But he finds himself loving the Reds. 

His love is mechanical and actions. He does what he can to fix the things for them. They are safe in his Warthog, so he makes sure it runs smoothly. They are safe in the base, so he makes sure it is still standing. 

At first it his programming, but soon, it develops into the impossible. He loves the _idiotas_ , no matter how stupid they are. 

So he keeps things working, to make sure that they are safe. Because they can’t be repaired like he can. 

So he does what he can as preventive maintenance.


End file.
